High purity hydrogen chloride, HCl, gas is used for several process steps of semiconductor device manufacture. The HCl gas is difficult to deliver in high purity at the point of use and the cost of ownership of the safe gaseous delivery system is high. Liquid in-situ chloride generators, such as organic chlorides have been used as substitutes for HCl (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,288,662 and 5,298,075). The conversion to inorganic chloride takes place inside of the reaction chamber, where oxidation of the organic chloride takes place: C.sub.x H.sub.y Cl.sub.y +xO.sub.2 .fwdarw.xCO.sub.2 +y HCl, where x and y are typically 2, 3 or 4.
Incomplete combustion will result in partially oxidized carbonaceous products, which are detrimental. Thus the oxidation of the organic chlorides must be completed prior to exposure of the semiconductor. For each organic chloride a minimum time at temperature is required and the application of an organic chloride as an HCl or chlorine (Cl.sub.2) source is heretofore restricted to silicon oxidation processes carried out in long residence time reactor chambers, held at temperatures of 800.degree. C. or higher.
Organic chlorides typically are not used as HCl and chlorine sources in processes carried out at temperatures below 800.degree. C. or in rapid thermal reactors.